Rupee hits a fresh low of 70.32 a dollar

The rupee hit a fresh low of 70.32 in early trade today hit by rising dollar, the country’s widening trade deficit and an across-the-board fall in Asian currencies.

The dollar hit a 13-month high on Thursday on the back of falling Turkish lira under US economic sanctions and concerns about China's economic health.

While Indian markets were closed on Wednesday for Independence Day, the partially convertible rupee was trading at 70.25/26 per dollar, in early morning today against its Tuesday's close of 69.90/91.

At 9.12 am the partially convertible rupee was down 43 paise to 70.32 against US dollar.

Rupee had reversed from a historic low in its closing trade on Tuesday after touching 71.10 against the US dollar. The Indian currency closed at 69.90 against the greenback on Tuesday.

Rupee breached 70 per dollar mark in late morning trade on Tuesday amid fears that economic crisis in Turkey could spread to other global economies.

In the opening trade today, rupee had recovered from partially and strengthened by 23 paise to 69.68 against the US dollar. But, panic overshadowed trading sentiment as traders and speculators saw no signs of RBI stepping in to save the currency from further fall.

On Monday, the Indian currency crashed by 110 paise - its biggest single-day fall in five years - to end at a lifetime low of 69.93 as the US dollar strengthened. This was the biggest single day fall for the rupee after the rupee dropped 2.4 per cent or 148 paise in a single day in August 2013.

The Turkish Lira has lost more than 40 per cent against the dollar this year, mainly due to worries about President Tayyip Erdogan`s influence over the economy, his repeated calls for lower interest rates, and worsening ties with the United States, a Reuters report said.

The currency pulled back from a record low of 7.24 to the dollar on Monday after the central bank pledged to provide liquidity, but it remained under selling pressure and its meltdown caused further unease on global markets.